Abusing sloths for selfie tourism is one of the conservation issues that The Sloth Institute (TSI) is very passionate about correcting, but it is one that we often thought would never happen in our “backyard”. Most of the online evidence (photos and videos) of sloths being abused for hugs and photos from tourists originates in other countries, countries that are more ‘well known’ for their wildlife trafficking. But the truth is that these kinds of wildlife crimes DO happen in Costa Rica, even if they are better disguised.

Someone may tell you they “rescued” this sloth but now it’s so used to humans that it cannot be released back into the wild. This is a lie. Someone may tell you that the sloth is happy you are giving it a hug, because look…it is smiling! This is a lie. Someone may tell you that wild sloths don’t mind living in captivity because they are lazy anyways and don’t move much. This is a lie. The people who commit these crimes are getting savvy. They know their audience is trying to pay attention, but even a caring tourist can get fooled.

The bottom line: Never participate in tourism that encourages you to pet, feed or take photos with wildlife (especially sloths).

Esperanza

Esperanza is a young juvenile three-fingered sloth that was rescued here in Costa Rica by the government from this selfish tourism scheme. After a thorough health check by myself and our vet friends at Toucan Rescue Ranch, we released her into the jungle.

Luckily, she is now wild and free and being tracked daily by our expert TSI sloth trackers. Since being set free into the jungle where she belongs, she has gained 1 kilogram (nearly doubling her original weight) in just 6 months. This is a testament to sloths being healthier and happier in the wild with the freedom to make their own choices about their own lives. We can stop this industry together.

Don’t Be Selfi(e)sh … #SayNOtoSlothSelfies

The Sloth Institute (TSI)’s mission is to enhance the welfare and conservation of sloths through research and education. TSI is located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. For more information please email info@theslothinstitute.org.

If you see a sloth who needs help: ALL or WHATSAPP +506 87756847/87SLOTHS.

1. Depression

2. Destruction of Forests

3. Diseases

Sloths may host different parasites, viruses, and infections that can pass to humans with one touch!

4. Depletion

The wild sloth population suffers with each sloth taken from the wild.

5. Death

Many captive sloths die due to the stress of transport and an improper diet.

Don’t Be Selfi(e)sh … #SayNOtoSlothSelfies

The Sloth Institute (TSI)’s mission is to enhance the welfare and conservation of sloths through research and education. TSI is located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. For more information please email info@theslothinstitute.org.

If you see a sloth who needs help: ALL or WHATSAPP +506 87756847/87SLOTHS.

Merlin is a wild sloth that we have been tracking since February. Through the use of binoculars, we recently discovered that he had acquired a serious fungal infection. However, our team is actively treating him with special baths! He will lose a lot of hair in the process, but we know that with these treatments, he’s feeling a lot better already.

The Sloth Institute (TSI)’s mission is to enhance the welfare and conservation of sloths through research and education. TSI is located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. For more information please email info@theslothinstitute.org.

If you see a sloth who needs help: ALL or WHATSAPP +506 87756847/87SLOTHS.

It’s no wonder why folks from around the world are rushing to Costa Rica for their vacation destination. With sprawling coastlines, lush rainforests, and many natural waterfalls, Manuel Antonio offers a unique slice of heaven for every vacation goer. The chance to observe wildlife around every corner provides a fantastic experience many seek while in the area. With these opportunities however come the responsibility to treat wildlife with the respect they deserve and need. Here are 5 ways you can leave no trace during your time in Costa Rica:

1. USE LESS PLASTIC

Single use plastics are a growing problem world-wide. It is estimated that by 2030 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Do your part to use less by utilizing reusable shopping bags and/or refilling water bottles when out and about. Avoid using straws in beverages and be sure to throw them away in proper receptacles not leave them on the beach or alongside trails.

2. KEEP WILDLIFE WILD

Do not touch, get close to, or pick up wild
animals for a “better look”. It is stressful to the animal and is possible that the animal may
harbor diseases. Additionally, we can transmit bacteria that is harmful to them. Sick or wounded animals can bite, peck or scratch, sending you to the hospital. Instead, observe wildlife from a distance so they are not scared or forced to flee.

You may have noticed the Sloth Mobile or members of Team Sloth around Manuel Antonio and wondered more of our purpose. Founded in 2014, The Sloth Institute Costa Rica (TSI) strives to expand scientific knowledge and education about the charismatic sloth species found in Costa Rica. The goal: to enhance sloths well-being and assure their conservation around the globe.

Utilizing the skills and passion of Team Sloth members has provided TSI the opportunity to expand our goals and vision with other like-minded institutions dedicated to preserving sloth’s place in the wild.

TSI’s ongoing dedication to research, specializing in the behavior, health and welfare of recently released, wild and captive sloths, has allowed for increased understanding of proper care and conservation needs of the species. With this new knowledge and successful reintroductions via Saving Sloths Together with Toucan Rescue Ranch, TSI continues to work to shift previous belief that hand-raised and captive sloths could not flourish in the wild. With every new release, we are confident in our belief that together, we can save sloths.

It’s no wonder why folks from around the world are rushing to Costa Rica for their vacation destination. With sprawling coastlines, lush rainforests, and many natural waterfalls, Manuel Antonio offers a unique slice of heaven for every vacation goer. The chance to observe wildlife around every corner provides a fantastic experience many seek while in the area. With these opportunities however come the responsibility to treat wildlife with the respect they deserve and need.

Here are 5 ways you can leave no trace during your time in Costa Rica:

1. USE LESS PLASTIC

Single use plastics are a growing problem worldwide. It is estimated that by 2030 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Do your part to use less by utilizing reusable shopping bags and/or refilling water bottles when out and about. Avoid using straws in beverages and be sure to throw them away in proper receptacles not leave them on the beach or alongside trails.

2. KEEP WILDLIFE WILD

Do not touch, get close to, or pick up wild animals for a “better look”.

It is stressful to the animal and is possible that the animal may harbor diseases. Additionally, we can transmit bacteria that is harmful to them. Sick or wounded animals can bite, peck or scratch, sending you to the hospital. Instead, observe wildlife from a distance so they are not scared or forced to flee.

Travelers from all over the world visit Costa Rica for it’s amazing scenery and vast wildlife. Spotting a variety of species is a highlight for anyone’s vacation with many people planning their trip around the opportunity to see one of earth’s most fascinating creatures up close, the sloth. Besides taking a tour of the National park or visiting a responsible animal rescue center, we know that people will come across sloths (and other wildlife) spontaneously. This is often the most exciting way to see a wild animal but there are a few things you need to remember to keep your vacation responsible and guilt free.

SAY NO TO SLOTH SELFIES

Being touched by humans causes sloths extreme stress! Never pay to touch, feed, or take a photo with a sloth. Sloths are wild animals! They can bite, scratch, and transmit diseases.

WHISPER

Loud noises are very stressful to sloths! Keep your voices low when around them and try not to make sudden movements or loud noises, including music and machinery.

NO LOITERING

Once you’ve had a good view of the sloth, please move along so the sloth can also get going. Sloths freeze when they are stressed. If you are too close to them, they will become unable to move and go about their business.

NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY

Bright lights are blinding to sloths, especially at night. Please only take photos WITHOUT flash.

DO NOT SPRAY BUG SPRAY OR SMOKE NEAR SLOTHS

Sloths have very sensitive lungs! Pesticides, bug sprays and smoke pollute the air. If you must use bug spray or smoke, walk away from all sloths so that they don’t breathe in the toxic fumes.

DRIVE SLOWLY & CAREFULLY

Sloths will cross roads to get to the other side, but they are no match for your vehicle. They need a lot of time to cross! Help sloths cross safely by stopping traffic &amp; keeping people away.

SUPPORT ECO-FRIENDLY LOCAL BUSINESSES

Sloths need trees, clean water, and a healthy, connected forest to survive. Anything you do to protect the planet, helps protect sloths.

ABOUT THE SLOTH INSTITUTE COSTA RICA

www.TheSlothInstituteCostaRica.org The mission of The Sloth Institute Costa Rica is to protect and enhance the welfare and conservation of sloths through research, education, and conservation programs. TSI is located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. For more information please email info@theslothinstitute.org. To donate visit tsi.charity.org. Let’s be social @TheSlothInstitute.

Protecting wild animals and wild spaces is a battle. In some corners of the world it is an actual war zone, and I cannot adequately express how much I respect and admire everyone on the front lines of those conflicts. But even in less personally life threatening scenarios, we struggle to make sense of how this world can sometimes be so cruel. From actual disregard for the environment and animal life, to genuine accidents that highlight the tragic consequences associated with human encroachment on wild environments; every day presents a new challenge. Regardless of what battle you enter into…it’s always better to lock arms with an ally and fight together to accomplish bigger and better goals. In the fight to save sloths and return them to their jungle homes, we have decided to lock arms with the amazing staff at Toucan Rescue Ranch. Hearing the name…you may wonder what a toucan center and a sloth center have in common? But don’t let the name fool you! Toucan Rescue Ranch started with Toucans, but has actually been working with sloths for over 15 years. We work together, every day, to rescue, rehabilitate and release sloths that have been negatively affected by devastation to their environment. We make a great team combing excellent medical care, scientific research, field work and unwavering dedication to saving these animals and getting them back where they belong. Our partnership means that every sloth we care for receives the very best rehabilitation team and the very best scientific team to heal them and get them back to the wild where they belong. In addition we are able to learn from each patient and add to our ever growing data base on sloth behavioral ecology which ultimately helps entire populations survive in this ever changing world. As the next year begins, it is important that we all focus on what we can do to make this world a better place. By working together to save sloths and assure their conservation, we predict 2018 will be a very productive year!

Recently there has been a proliferation of wildlife selfies being posted on social media sites, with Instagram alone reporting an increase of 300%. And thankfully, there has been a huge response from the global community on the harm these selfies impose on wildlife. We get that some people just don’t realize that taking selfies with wildlife is simply not only harmful but unethical.

A recent video uncovered by the investigative work of “World Animal Protection” tells a horrific story. Trees are being chopped down and sloths are being ripped out of trees and are passed around from tourist to tourist as if they were a toy. These sloths are wild animals and show all the signs of being in stress when taken from their environment. An average tourist thinks that the sloths outstretched arms are a sign of the sloths posing when in fact it means they are in high stress mode.

Why raccoons are important and what to do when they invade your home.

By Paola Alvarado, SINAC officer and Sam Trull, Sloth Director of TSI

This may seem like a strange article to appear in the TSI Quepolandia slot, but this month we have teamed up with local SINAC officer, Paola Alvarado, to remind you that even the least popular animals play an important role in our ecosystem. Your first, and maybe only impression of a raccoon may be that of a ‘thief’ in the night. Raccoons seem to be masters at getting exactly where we don’t want them to be: inside roofs, walls, trash bins and even outdoor kitchens! They are so smart, that once they have figured out how to get into an area, it can be very difficult to get them out. They are able to unzip bags, open lids, if you handed them a key, they would probably even unlock doors (ok, maybe that’s a stretch)! But raccoons can actually benefit people by eating mice, rats and unwanted insects. It is always important to remember that ultimately, we have invaded their jungle home and it’s our responsibility to make the relationship work.

The Passport to the Future

By Seda Sejud
The Sloth Institute Costa Rica

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”, Malcolm X once exclaimed in an impassioned speech about the importance of education. At The Sloth Institute Costa Rica (TSI), we truly believe that “education is the passport to the future” and as TSI embarks upon its third anniversary, we are excited to be expanding our work with Education and Conservation initiatives, both of which are core tenets of our mission.

TSI’s 3rd annual Elementary School Sloth Challenge (ESSC), will be held the entire month of October in celebration of International Sloth Day, Friday October 20. This year’s campaign—Your Voice is Their Future—offers elementary school teachers a four week differentiated curriculum packet with resources designed to engage and excite young minds about the rainforest and animals who call it home.

At The Sloth Institute, we are excited to begin progress, slow as it may seem (but how appropriate!) towards the 3rd tenet of our mission statement: CONSERVATION. As we help negate human encroachment issues that impact sloths’ welfare and habitats.

We all witness the expansion of development projects everywhere. Our world is getting more crowded and many of us are seeking less developed places to escape to and live. The downside of this is that in so many places, like Costa Rica, there is a large negative impact on wildlife created by human encroachment. A single tree removed can create a life-threatening situation for a sloth and can prevent them from getting to much needed food or shelter. Unable to reach the next tree, sloths are forced to come down to the ground, where they are most exposed to danger, to travel across. Once on the ground, sloth’s encounter dogs, snakes, ocelots, and cars, all a certain threat to the safety and livelihood of the individual. While monkeys can easily jump to another tree, a sloth has no choice but to go to the ground to travel where gaps in the trees are present.

By Sam Trull, Co-Founder and Sloth Director at The Sloth Institute Costa Rica

Definition of Freedom—”the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.”

One of the main tenants—of The Sloth Institute is to improve the welfare of sloths. Providing proper enrichment and wild foods are a great way to improve the lives of captive sloths on their journey through rehabilitation. But ultimately, there is no greater way to enhance a sloth’s welfare (or really any creature’s welfare) than by giving them their freedom. As humans, we are sometimes so arrogant to assume that other creatures aren’t smart enough or aware enough to have desires beyond being well fed and safe but in reality the ability to make your own decisions creates feelings of relief that pass species boundaries. From a scientific perspective, the assets of freedom can be explained by detailing the benefits of a life in their natural environment. For example, with sloths it is stressful to not live in a habitat where they can climb high and find adequate hiding locations. This behavioral desire can be explained by a need to avoid predators and find shelter in a storm, but what if it also just ‘feels right’? What if they have an ‘unexplainable’ urge to make decisions for themselves and there’s no scientific proof to make it valid? What is curiosity and why do so many creatures have this drive to explore? Sloths are curious and enjoy exploration and only freedom in a natural jungle environment can satisfy those needs.

After living in Costa Rica and working for The Sloth Institute for over a year and a half now there is nowhere else I would like to be. Even after living in a tent, braving the weather, the long hours and lack of sleep for this long I do not want to go back home just yet!

I graduated with my zoology degree in 2015 and was thankfully accepted to become a volunteer research technician with The Sloth Institute (TSI). I went into the job without any prior knowledge about sloths, but now I have completely fallen in love with them!! Throughout my time with TSI there have been many highs and lows, that unfortunately just comes hand in hand when working with animals. One of my most recent highs was when we successfully reunited a baby three fingered sloth back with its mother. After a local guide contacted us about the sloth we rushed over to help and after we made sure the baby was in no immediate danger we waited. We moved as far back from the baby as we could and were completely silent. The baby started to cry for its mother and after some time the mother appeared high up and started to move towards her baby. She climbed down the tree until finally she reached her baby and they were reunited. Moments like these are the main reasons why I am still out here in Costa Rica!!

Whenever one year ends and another one begins we tend to reflect upon the past year’s achievements and make goals for the future. However, rather than go through a laundry list of our triumphs and failures from 2016, I would like to focus on the present and share a simple story. A few weeks ago we received a phone call from a nearby hotel, a mom and baby sloth had fallen and the mom shot back up the tree leaving her tiny baby behind! I asked them to please leave the baby where it was and stay with it to keep it safe until we arrived. Minutes later at the scene of the fall, we witnessed a TINY baby three-fingered sloth about half-way up a tree dangling from a thin branch. It would every once in a while utter a very soft and pitiful cry, but mom was nowhere in sight. At this point I asked to borrow a ladder and had it set up in the tree just in case we needed to grab the baby and then I asked everyone to please leave. This tree was already adjacent to a busy road and with all of the earlier commotion; if we were going to have any chance of reuniting mom and the baby sloth we needed there to be no audience.